Safety device for vaults, safes, and the like



Jn. 18,1927a V1,614,945

- c. BARTELS ET AL SAFETY DEVICE FO'R VAULTS, SAFES, AND THE LIKE original 'Filed Feb. 2, 1924 Patented Jan. '18, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CARL BARTELS AND CLAYTON J. GOE'BEL, OE HAMILTON, OHIO, ASSIGNORS TO THE MOSLER SAFE COMPANY, OF HAMILTON, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR VAULTS, SAEES, AND THE LIKE.

Original applicati-on led February 2, 1924, Serial No. 690,124. Divided and this application led July 29, 1925. Serial No. 46,719.

This invention relates to safety devices for vaults, safes and the like, and more particularly to means operable from the interior of the structure for admitting air to a person locked inside of the structure.

This application is a division of an application filed by ourselves February 2, 1924, for improvements in safety device for vaults, safes and the like, Serial No. 690,124.

At the present day, many persons, principally bankers, are much concerned about being waylaid-by burglars and forced into a safe or vault and having the door closed and locked upon them, in which case they are subjected tothe danger of being sufl'ocated due to the lack ot' means for allowing air to enfer the structure when it is locked.

The principal object ot our invention is to provide a device which is adapted to be associated with a vault, safe or similar structure, and which is operable from the inside of the structure to open an air passageway from the exterior to the interior of the structure without requiring the structure to be unlocked and opened. y

A further object of our invention is to provide means of the character described which are not operable from the exterior of the structure.

Other objects of our invention will be in part obvious and in part pointed out herein after.

In order that a clearer understanding of our invention may be had, attention is hereby directed to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application and illust-rating one possible embodiment of our invention.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 is a sectional view through a safe wall showing the safety device mounted therein; Fig. 2 is an end view of the device showing the exterior end thereof; and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the interior end ot' the safety" device, a portion of the hand wheel being shown broken away to more clearly bring out the construction. Similar' reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

rlhe safety device consists primarily of an air passageway through one of the enclosing walls of the structure and a. plug removably filling the passageway, the plug being removable from the passageway by manual manipulation from the interior of the structure to open an air passageway from the exterior to the interior of the structure. rilhe plug is not removable from the exterior of the structure,

Referring to the drawings, a steel block 1 is mounted in the concrete safe wall 2, so as to extend from the inner surface to the outer surface thereof. The inner end of the block l extends inwardly beyond the inner surface of the wall 2, and is vthere provided with external threads 3 and with' an interior threaded recess d. The threaded hub 5v of a hand wheel 6 normally engages the threads of recess f1. Block v1 has an axial passage therethrough contoured to receive a rod-like plug 8, which toward its rear end has an enlarged portion 9 seated in a correspondingly enlarged portion of the passage through block 1. The rear portion of this plug penetrates the hub 5 axially, and a nut 11 is screwed on a reduced threaded portion on the end of the plug, the nut preferably having a tapered recess in which the plug end is subsequently flattened, as at 10. The plug 8 cannot ber driven inwardly by reason of the abutment of enlarged plug portion 9 against the hub 8, which .is in threaded engagement with the block 1. A

nut 12 and a lock nut 13 are screwed upon the inner end of the bloclrl to prevent this block from being pulled out from the front, and the front end of the block 1 is flanged outwardly, as at 14, to prevent the block from being driven inwardly from the front.

T o open communication through the vault wall with this device, it is merely necessary to rotate the hand wheel 6 until its hub 5 is released from the threads of the block 1 and then to pull the plug 8 out of the block. The nut 11 prevents the hub from leaving the plug rearwardly.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and as many apparently widely dilferent embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, -it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What We claim is 1. The combination with a vault wall, of a block mounted therein and having a safety aperture therethrough, the rear end of said block being threaded and exposed on the inner side of the vault wall, a. member engaging said threads and abutting thevault wall, whereby the block is held against forward removal from said wall, a plug in the safety aperture, and means for retaining the plug in said aperture against removal rearwardly therefrom.

2. The combination with a vault wall, of block mounted therein and having a safety aperture therethrough, the rear end of said block being threaded and exposed on the inner side of the vault wall, and a member engaging said threads and abutting the vault wall, whereby the block is held against forward removal from said wall, said bock having alateral projection engaging lthe vault wall, whereby the block is held against rearward removal from said wall, a plug in the safety aperture, `and means for retaining the plug in said aperture against removal rearwardly therefrom.

3. The combination with a vault wall, of a block mounted therein and having a safety aperture therethrough, the rear end of said block being threaded and exposed on the inner side of the vault wall, a member engaging said threads and abutting the vault wall, whereby the block is held against forward removal from said wall, a plug fitting in said aperture, and a retaining member removably engageable with the plug and block whereby theplug may be releasably confined in said aperture against rearward removal therefrom'. l

4. The combination with a vault wall, of a block mounted therein and having a safety aperture therethrough, the rear end of said block being threaded and exposed on the inner side of the vault wall, a member engaging said threads and abutting the vault wall, whereby the block is held against forward removal from said wall, a plug fitting in said aperture, and a retaining member removably engageable with'the plug and block whereby the plug may be realeasably confined in said aperture against rearward removal therefrom, said retaining member being accessible from the interior of the vault wall for adjustment into and out of engagement with said block.

5. The combination with a` vault wall, of a block mounted therein and having an aperture. extending from one end to the other thereof, a plug removably mounted in said aperture, a hand wheel exposed on the inner side of the vault wall and having a hub encircling said plug and in threaded engagement with said block, the inner end of said block being threaded and exposed on the inner side of said wall, and a nut screwed on said inner end of the block and against the wall, whereby forward movement of said block in said wall is prevented.

6. The combination with a vault wall, of a block mounted therein and havingan aperture extending from one end to the other thereof, a plug removably vmounted in said aperture, a hand wheel exposed on the inner vside of the vault wall and having a hub encircling said plug and in threaded engagement lwith said block, said block having a fiange portio-n at its outer end, whereby rearward movement of said block in said wall is prevented.

This specification signed this lst day of July, 1925.

CARL BARTELS. CLAYTON J. 'GOEBEL 

